African American Music - Research Paper Example

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Both Jazz and Blues have distinct differences, both musically and culturally. Even though, some performers cross over from one genre to the other, both blue and jazz performers are different from each other in one way or the other (Kallie 11). Both forms of music got welcomed in the larger society in similar methods and reasons. Both genres of music became considered dangerous and commonly associated with the teenagers’ rebellion. This was due to the nontraditional sounds of both together with their association with the black community, which gets denigrated and looked down upon during the era. Both genres later came to become popular and unique representatives of the American culture. Both genres of music also comprise of fusions of various common elements. They both introduced elements of rhythm and improvisation in the American music. A number of jazz musicians, like Duke Ellington, borrowed a lot of elements from blues and introduced them in their own versions of jazz (Quilty 13). With their immense popularity, both genres spread in different ways. Jazz had a more interracial component and, therefore, the artists from the South easily translated for the audiences in the North. The immense popularity of Dixieland jazz boomed Chicago as the style travelled northward. ...

Summary

Jazz and Blues are both American music styles born in the South and largely invented and used by African Americans. Their roots become so tangled together making it hard to distinguish one form from the other…

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